Paying Off The Mortgage Update: April 2014

By Derek, on May 2nd, 2014

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I have vowed to pay off my mortgage by the end of this year, 2014. At the end of February, I still owed $53,800 to the bank, but then March happened (which was a good thing!) and I was able to take this balance down tremendously. I sold my extra car, received a hefty tax refund check, and got some money from my insurance company. After March, I was able to put over $10,000 toward the house debt and brought the balance down to $43,524.

Paying Off The Mortgage: A Decent April

There were no more money windfalls like there were in March, but it was a pretty good month considering. If you remember, I had a big tax refund from last year (which I don’t necessarily like because that means I’ve been letting the government use my money for free), so I thought I would alter my dependent number from 0 to 1, which ended up putting an extra $40 in my paycheck every two weeks. Beyond this, my website brought in a decent amount of money again. Nothing crazy, but more than usual. And finally, my expenses were down this month. My car insurance company charged me too much in March, so the April bill was hardly anything. I spent a minimal amount on food and gas again, and my car hasn’t had any unusual expenses either!

All in all, April was a pretty good month and I was able to accomplish what I wanted. With no extra huge amounts of cash flowing my way, I was still able to scrounge up $3,524.08, which puts my mortgage balance at $39,999.99. I made it below $40,000! YES!

As you can see in the chart above, I am still below the orange line, which is awesome! However, in order to stay below that line, I need to come up with $5,400 a month to put toward the mortgage. That, my friend, is a pretty tall order, and I have no idea how I am going to keep my payments that large each month.

Projected May Payment

Instead of looking into the distant future (which seems a bit daunting at the moment), let’s only focus on the next month, May. This past month, I was able to come up with just over $3,000 somehow, because everything just seemed to go right with the budget. This next month, I am going to be a little more conservative with my estimate since I am buying a bicycle (my reward for getting my mortgage below $40k) and I have a few other random expenses coming in (replenishing my contact supply and a few doctor appointments). By working hard and earning money where I can (mainly, through article writing), I still expect to have $2,500 extra dollars this month. On top of this, I am getting reimbursed from my work for my college expenses, and May is a triple pay month! For these reasons, I expect to pay another $7,500 on this loan, which will bring the balance down to about $32,500.

Stock-piled $15,000

Now, if you remember, I built up an emergency fund of $15,000 before I started this crazy house-payoff strategy. By the end of December, I expect that I will still have $10,000 or so to pay off and I might just use some of this reserve to cover it. So, the moral of the story is, I am going to try my hardest to keep myself below that orange line, but if I happen to float above it toward the end of the year, I do have a back-up plan to cover the last bit of expenses.

19 comments to Paying Off The Mortgage Update: April 2014

Yep, you’ll make it. You’ve got a plan and you’ve got focused intensity. And your goal is time-bound. And your plan includes monthly targets to keep you on track. Most people just throw a little at their goals every now and then, and wonder why they don’t make it. You’ve got all the essential elements for success. No doubt in my mind that you will make it work, barring any major emergencies. Great job!Matt @ Financial Excellence recently posted..Fix your Own Brakes to Save Money

Great job! I love how you are only focusing on the next month as it comes. Looking at the entire balance can be overwhelming and result in you giving up. But just focusing on the $5k you need, you are less likely to give up. And great job on the reward! I do that myself as I hit milestones along the way.Jon @ Penny Thots recently posted..Do You Have An Opportunity Fund?

Many reasons: cash flow, zero debt, no worries, and this will allow me to invest in real estate quite easily without the bank’s help. Think of how fast I’ll be able to build wealth with $4k extra dollars each month!

When crafting big goals like this, its important to take it one month at a time. Your comment that looking too far ahead is a bit daunting has real truth in it. When trying to climb a mountain, its best to focus on one foot at a time. Good job making it this far, and keep it up!The Wallet Doctor recently posted..How to reduce your food costs

Woo frickin Hoo!!!!! Under $40K. Yay for you. Great job throwing all that windfall at the mortgage. I might have been tempted to take a grand or so and go to Vegas for the weekend. (I guess that’s the purpose your bike serves for you – a little reward for job well done).

You’re going to make it – absolutely no doubt in my mind! Good job. I’m sooooooo jealous. If my mortgage was under $40K I’d be losing my mind trying to kill it. Can’t wait to hear that you’ve killed it. Best of luck!

YEAH! I sure hope I make it, but even if I don’t my mortgage will be down to something like, $5k and I’ll just take care of it in January or February. And then it’s on to real estate investing. can’t wait!

I couldn’t even imagine having my mortgage down that low, I just remember when I was paying off the student loans I threw every penny I could at it when it got under 10k. I would drive myself nuts trying to get the mortgage down to $0, but I will do it in less than 10 years that’s for sure!

I’m trying not to get too crazy about this mortgage payoff (I did just take a weekend vacation, so yes, I do have fun from time to time), but it is fun to make that big debt number go down each month. I can’t wait to see $0.00.

Reading your post is like a flashback to 2012 when I was in the same place as you are! I have complete faith in you! Just don’t forget small rewards along the way! Now that you’re about 6 or 7 months out, have you considered applying for a credit card (or two) to maximize a bonus? That could be a good $800 – $1,000. Why not park some of that $15,000 in a new checking account and earn a $200 bonus or so? Have you thought about getting rid of unwanted items? This is the perfect time of year for a yard or Craigslist sale. And what about a short-term “no spend” challenge? I’m very excited and can’t wait to celebrate your success!Mortgage Free Mike recently posted..Things I Learned Selling on Craigslist

Thanks for the comment Mike. Always good to hear from you. I have done the credit card thing earlier this year and got a quick $250 in bonuses. My bank actually pays me 3% of $15k for the year, so I really don’t want to deviate from them at all. They are a great bank. I will probably list a few things on Craigslist in the next few weeks, but this is a pretty common practice for me from month to month anyway. I’ll keep you posted on my future payments!

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Congratulations mate!! That’s great. We paid our mortgage off this month and it feels good. It didn’t come easy but without dedication to saving and living a frugal lifestyle it would have taken us a bit longer. Mr.CBBCanadianBudgetBinder (@CanadianBudgetB) recently posted..How we became mortgage free in five years

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